Does The DoorDash Customer Rating Matter?

Does the DoorDash customer rating matter? This is a question you might be asking yourself if you’ve started working as a Dasher on DoorDash.

The short answer is, yes your DoorDash customer rating does matter. To be clear, what I’m referring to is your customer rating, which is the rating you receive from customers who rate your delivery performance. If your DoorDash customer rating gets too low, then you risk deactivation.

There are other metrics that DoorDash looks at too. Some of these metrics do matter. Some don’t. I’ll go into some detail about these other metrics later in this post.

So, with that said, let’s look at the DoorDash customer rating, how it works, and what you can do to keep it high enough so you don’t risk deactivation.

What Is The DoorDash Customer Rating?

The DoorDash customer rating is a rating system that DoorDash uses to measure your delivery performance. Customers rate Dashers between 1 and 5 stars. The rating is created by using the average of your last 100 customer ratings. Here’s what it looks like in the app:

A screenshot of my current DoorDash customer rating.

You can get a further breakdown of your customer rating in the Dasher app. If you click on customer rating, you’ll be able to see the last 100 ratings you’ve received.

In addition to the star rating, customers can also give you a thumbs up or thumbs down in four metrics. These include communication, whether you followed delivery instructions, order handling, and friendliness. These metrics do not directly impact your star rating, but you can assume that if someone is giving you a bad rating, they’re probably going to give you a thumbs down in one of these metrics too.

It’s important to remember that not everyone rates their delivery. This means the last 100 customers ratings you receive will probably not be the same as the last 100 deliveries you completed. I’d estimate that less than half of DoorDash customers rate their delivery. Most people just get their order and never leave a rating.

Does The DoorDash Customer Rating Matter?

Your rating matters for two reasons. The first and most important reason to maintain a high rating is that if your rating gets too low, you can be deactivated. DoorDash states that if your customer rating falls below 4.2, you are eligible for deactivation.

This doesn’t mean you’re automatically deactivated if you fall below 4.2. DoorDash uses vague language that you may be subject to deactivation if you fall below 4.2. To avoid this issue, I recommend doing your best to keep your rating well above 4.2 stars.

You don’t need to have a perfect 5.0 customer rating though. I generally keep my rating around 4.9 without having to do anything beyond completing my deliveries relatively quickly. If you can keep your customer rating above 4.5, you’re probably in good shape. You’re always going to get some bad ratings from disgruntled customers, so you want to keep a buffer when it comes to your DoorDash customer rating.

The second reason your customer rating matters is if you want to get Top Dasher status. If you have Top Dasher status, you can dash anytime, even if the zone you want to dash in is full.

Personally, I don’t think Top Dasher status is worth getting. To get Top Dasher status, you also have to maintain a high acceptance rate, which means you’ll have to accept orders that are unprofitable or not worth doing.

So, the main reason to keep your customer rating high is to avoid deactivation and to give yourself a buffer so that when you get a few bad ratings, it won’t hurt your DoorDash customer rating too much.

How To Keep Your DoorDash Customer Rating High

If you want to keep your DoorDash customer rating high, you can follow some of these tips. They’re fairly obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times people neglect to do these things.

Deliver Orders Quickly. This goes without saying. People want their orders fast. If you deliver them quickly, you’re likely to get better customer ratings.

Try To Make Sure Orders Are Accurate. Customers get mad when their orders are not accurate. Sometimes, orders are already packed and sealed, so you’re at the mercy of the restaurant making sure the order is correct. There’s not much you can do there. The part where you can make sure you get things right is making sure drinks are included. Restaurants often forget to include drinks that a customer ordered. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered food and found that my drink wasn’t included. When you pick up an order, quickly check to see if there are drinks in the order.

Follow Delivery Instructions. Unfortunately, some customers are more annoying or lazy than others. If a customer tells you to bring their order up to their apartment, you should do it or else you risk getting a bad customer rating. The few bad ratings I’ve ever received were because I didn’t want to go into an apartment building and instead I left the food at the front door or in the lobby.

Keep Orders In Good Condition. You’d be surprised how often dashers deliver food in bad condition. Do your best to avoid spilling the order. Don’t hold pizza boxes sideways! Try to get the food to the customer the same way it was packed by the restaurant.

Other DoorDash Ratings And Whether They Matter

There are a few other DoorDash ratings to track. These include the following: acceptance rate; completion rate; on time or early percentage.

Acceptance rate does not matter. The acceptance rate refers to the orders that are sent to you that you accept. You are an independent contractor if you’re a Dasher, so you have the right to accept or reject any orders you want. My acceptance rate rarely gets above 30% because I am picky about which orders I do. Because acceptance rate doesn’t matter, I do not worry about it.

Completion rate DOES matter. The completion rate is the percentage of the last 100 orders you’ve accepted that you’ve completed. Sometimes, you might accept an order, then cancel it instead of doing the order. It’s okay to do this a few times, but if you do it too much, you risk deactivation. DoorDash states that if your completion rate falls below 80%, you risk deactivation. I try to keep my completion rate around 90%.

On time or early rate refers to the percentage of orders you deliver within the time frame that DoorDash provides. This rating doesn’t matter. Indeed, it doesn’t ever seem to change for me. You still want to complete your deliveries quickly to keep your customer rating up, but don’t worry about this metric.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, your DoorDash customer rating does matter. Keep your customer rating above 4.2 so that you don’t risk deactivation. If you deliver orders in a timely manner, do your best to make sure orders are accurate, and follow directions provided to you, you shouldn’t have any problem keeping your customer rating up.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes/scooters I've had the chance to do a review for:

GEN3 Outcross Bike – The GEN3 Outcross is a solid, affordable fat tire ebike that does a good job of doing what I need it to do. It works great for city riding, giving me a smooth ride in all conditions. It’s works really well as a winter ebike since the fat tires give it good traction over snow and ice. Check out my GEN3 Outcross Review.
Himiway Escape Bike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Bike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($10) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Moomoo (5 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 5 free stocks (usually worth around $75-$100) if you open an account using a referral link and deposit $2,000. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Webull (5 free stocks) – Webull also gives you 5 free stock valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free stocks using Webull.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
Digital Federal Credit Union ($100) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
Upgrade ($100) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $100 referral bonus if you open an account and complete three debit card transactions. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Importantly, this bonus says that it’s now scheduled to end on January 31, 2023. As long as you get your account opened before January 31st, you should be eligible. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $100 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link.Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($100) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
OnJuno ($60) – OnJuno is a fintech/neobank that is currently offering a $10 referral bonus if you open an account using a referral link and make a deposit of $50 or more. You will also get 1000 JCOIN. The 1000 of JCOIN is cryptocurrency. At the time I'm writing this, it'll be worth about $50. Check out my OnJuno referral bonus guide here.
Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Albert ($150) – If you can manage to do a real direct deposit, Albert is an easy account you can use to earn a referral bonus. Here’s a review about Albert I wrote. And here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Albert referral bonus.
Netspend ($20 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $20 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $20 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
DCU. Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $100 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a savings account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000.
Novo Bank. Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. It’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $10 for opening an account.
Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.